Search is shifting. Fewer clients are heading to Google. More are typing into tools like ChatGPT and getting straight answers. So what does that mean for your website?
At the Growth Club Summit, Scott McNaught and Alex Cumberland from Oncord broke it down. They showed exactly how websites get read by AI, why structure still matters and which updates are worth doing now to stay visible later.
Watch Scott and Alex's session
No hype. No jargon. Just practical moves to protect and boost your online presence.
“ChatGPT is great at answering questions… but people still end up on your website.”
- Scott McNaught
Why your website still counts
AI tools can answer questions fast, but they are not the final stop. Clients still head to your site when they want to check services, meet your team or make contact. If that site is messy, slow or unclear, they will bounce. If it is sharp and structured, they stay.
Good websites are still your best sales tool. You just need to help AI read them properly.
What AI sees when it scans your site
Search engines and AI models do not see your fancy visuals. They see plain text. More specifically, they see something called Markdown.
That means your headings, paragraphs and bullet points need to be crystal clear. A heading 1 tells the AI what the page is about. A heading 2 breaks it into sections. Lists and short paragraphs help it skim.
Test it yourself. Copy a block of text from your site and run it through a Markdown viewer. If it reads like a clear article, you are on the right path.
Speed is now part of visibility
Google and AI crawlers expect sites to load fast. If yours is slow, it might not even get picked up. Use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights. Aim for a score above 70. Avoid loading up your pages with heavy tracking codes or autoplay videos.
Three files you should check this week
There are three behind-the-scenes files that help AI and Google find your content:
• robots.txt
• sitemap.xml
• llms.txt (a new one that is still emerging)
The first two tell search bots what to read and when your content was last updated. The third will let you feed LLMs a structured summary of your site. Oncord generates the first two for you. The third is coming soon.
Centralise your marketing stack
Oncord is more than a website builder. It is a central hub for website content, email marketing, CRM, events and e-commerce.
Write one blog post. Share it to social. Drop it into your newsletter. Track who reads what. All from one dashboard. No plug-ins. No patchwork fixes.
“It is like turning your website into a marketing command centre.”
- Alex Cumberland
Write for people and AI
Good content needs to work both ways. Humans should enjoy reading it. AI should understand it.
Here is what helps:
• Headings in a clear order
• Short paragraphs
• FAQs in question-and-answer format
• Location-based posts like client stories or local guides
Do not just paste from ChatGPT. Write in your own voice. Use AI to tweak, shorten or reword where needed.
Coming soon: AI tools that edit your site for you
Oncord is building AI agents that can act on simple instructions. Want to add a contact form? Type it in. Need a new field or want to make every box mandatory? Ask the agent. It will do the work and update your page.
These tools are in final testing now. They will let you update your site without touching a single line of code.
Quick checklist to get AI-ready
• Use proper heading tags in all your content
• Check your site structure with a Markdown viewer
• Fix slow pages using PageSpeed Insights
• Make sure your sitemap.xml is up to date
• Write posts that include questions, answers and location terms
• Try one new AI writing feature in your CMS this month
This is not about chasing trends. It is about keeping your site sharp, searchable and ready for the next wave of change. Start small. Tweak often. Stay visible.
Relive Scott and Alex's session
